Why did Drs. Foster and Smith change their dog and cat food manufacturer?While we believe that our dog and cat foods are already among the best on the market, we are always researching ways to provide even better nutrition, more flavor, and stricter quality control. That's why we are excited to share the news that we have partnered with a new dry pet food manufacturer, who will help us make our already premium dog and cat foods even better.

Our new manufacturer of dry dog and cat foods, CJ Foods, has two manufacturing plants, one in Pawnee City, Nebraska and one in Bern, Kansas. Some of their excellent quality control measures include:

Facilities and equipment that are designed for effective microbial control from the first processing step to the last.

A quality control department that includes state of the art, rapid testing equipment, and methods to insure that the products being packaged are within the specified targets.

Though not required to by law, they annually receive an inspection by the American Institute of Baking and have consistently received Superior ratings.

Did your canned food manufacturer change too?No, our canned food manufacturer continues to be Menu Foods.[ Back to Top ]

What differences will I see in the food? You will notice a difference in the shapes and sizes of the kibble of some of our foods. For example, the kibble for all of our cat food formulas (Kitten, Adult, Hairball and Lite) will now be in the shape of a pellet. The pellets are the approximate size of a pencil eraser. The Kitten food pellet will be a bit shorter, designed for a kitten's smaller mouth. The kibble for all of our dog food formulas (Adult Dog Lamb & Brown Rice, Adult Dog Chicken & Brown Rice, Senior, Lite and Puppy) will now be in the shape of a disc. The size of the disc in the adult foods is slightly smaller than 1/2" (a little smaller than a dime). The Puppy kibble will be a smaller disc, designed for a puppy's smaller mouth.
[ Back to Top ]

Will the guaranteed analysis for the foods change?The crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and moisture did not change for any of the dog or cat diets. For the cat diets, the ash, taurine and magnesium levels that are guaranteed also did not change. The Omega-3 and -6 levels remained the same except for the lamb, where the Omega-3 decreased slightly from 2.5% to 1.5%. [ Back to Top ]

Did any ingredients change, and why?Although the main ingredients have basically remained the same, some additional ingredients have been added to provide even better consistency in the levels of protein and other nutrients in our food. To provide extra assurance that our food meets our expectations for direct-fed microbials, we changed to the state-of-the-art GanedenBC30™ Probiotic. For an explanation of each of the ingredients in our cat and dog foods, please see Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Food Ingredient Glossary.
[ Back to Top ]

What is GanedenBC30™?GanadenBC30™ Probiotic, manufactured by Ganeden Labs, is a patented form of the direct-fed microbial, Bacillus coagulans. Ganeden BC30 Probiotic is unique because it is surrounded by a natural protective shield. This protective layer helps the healthy bacteria survive the heat and pressure of manufacturing and stomach acids. Other traditional probiotic bacteria do not contain this unique protective shell and thus are more vulnerable to heat, pressure and stomach acid.
[ Back to Top ]

Why did some bag sizes become smaller, but the price remained the same?As we all know, prices are increasing quickly everywhere we turn, and the pet food industry is no exception. Faced with recent price increases in both ingredients and packaging, we made the decision to slightly decrease the Net Weight of our largest sizes of dog foods rather than increase the price of our food. Our Adult Dog Chicken & Brown Rice, Adult Dog Lamb & Brown Rice, Senior, and Puppy foods now have a Net Weight of 28 lbs rather than 30 lbs. Our Lite Dog food now has a Net Weight of 23 lbs rather than 25 lbs. The smaller sizes of our dog food have not changed, and our cat food sizes have not changed. [ Back to Top ]